Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
From tapping sounds to strange noises on the dictaphone, what is or was the cause? Is it coincidental? Worthy of further investigation? ...read on!
This vigil was organised by Nottingham Paranormal Investigators (NPI) and the owner of the Salutation Inn. NPI are a fantastic, friendly group of people who look after you, but also leave you to get on and conduct your own investigations.
Brief History:
Ye Old Salutation Inn dates back to 1240 replacing a previous inn on the site, with the present building trading as a public house since the 15th Century. It is a Grade Two listed building with flagstone flooring, beamed ceilings and wood panelling. The smaller of the two rooms (referred to as “snugs”) flanking the entrance passageway is said to have been used by Cromwell's soldiers as a recruiting room in the Civil War in the 1640's. In addition to all of this, there are amazing 9th century caves under the pub, including one once used as servant quarters and brewery. It is also reputed to have been a brothel and has a resident ghost of a young girl called Rosie…
Cromwell Snug
People using a ouija board seemed to be receiving personal messages.
This room is apparently known to be active. However, I did not personally experience anything in this room on this vigil.
Downstairs Bar Area
Nothing apparent.
Stairs and Upstairs Bar Area
There has apparently been reported activity on the stairs and in the upstairs bar area. Unfortunately, nothing particular happened on our group vigil, other than an occasional temperature drop. However, this perhaps emanated from a window being open – albeit we, as a group, were not sitting near it at the time and it was only a small window.
The only other explanation I can give in this respect, was that there may possible have been an opening somewhere, through the bottom of the door, from the toilet block near to us. I did pick up some possible orbs on camera. Otherwise, the group thought the area was flat.
orb
looking right to left - orb in third upper row glass panel near wooded area
orbs
orb
Picture 1 (above):
Orbs sited in the upstairs bar area
Picture 2 (above):
Looking left to right, almost central in the wood panelled area of the bar there is a very bright orb apparent
N.B. This is NOT a light reflection!
Picture 3 (opposite):
A couple of large orbs
Upstairs Ladies Toilet
Our group did not investigate this area, but another group did. I do not know if anything occurred for that group. Apparently, this area is known to be active – from what I can remember, I think doors open if closed (and vice versa) and bang. I do not have any experience of this so am unable to comment upon the same.
Kitchen
A trigger object was placed in the kitchen but this did not move. Nothing occurred for our group on this particular vigil.
Apparently, past history, there was a poisoning which occurred. Now I do not know when this was, but believe it affected a family living there at the time. Perhaps more research is required in this area.
Side storage type room off kitchen area
The name of Marguerite is a name apparently linked with this area, possible a past prostitute?
Our group considered mirror scrying but accessibility to the mirror was limited to us, due to other items in this room being stacked up.
I did not personally experience anything in this room.
The Cave System
The main areas of the cave system initially investigated were the area where the doll shrine has been left for “Rosie”, the largest cave area and later in the early hours of the morning the caved areas to the right of the main stairs as you descend into the caves.
Mandy asked all of our group members to sit in a particular alcove in the doll shrine part of the cave system. She did not say why, but asked us to tell her if we felt anything in any way. It transpired that she had felt light headed and sick when sitting there. I did not personally pick up on anything. The only thing I would say here, is that when first descending to that area early on in the vigil, I said I did not want to be near that particular area. I do not know why, but I just did not like it. Carl had also felt something whilst sitting here. Both Mandy and I took photographs of Carl sitting in the alcove area.
Mandy’s camera appeared to pick up on what can only be described as a “vortex” (spiral) shape down the right side of the picture. She took a few more pictures getting the same result. We told her to put the camera strap in front of the lens and take a photograph with that in view. This was to eliminate the possibility of the “vortex” pictures being the result of the camera strap. The “vortex” type picture she had taken prior to this was not reproduced. Unfortunately, I did not pick any “vortex” pictures up on my camera – more’s the pity…
Our group consisted of 4 people, 2 females, 2 males. Mandy was sensing a presence with us in the dolls shrine part of the cave system. Unfortunately, I personally did not feel or pick up on anything. Also, from time spent in the largest part of the cave system, Carl was experiencing problems with the camcorder he was using, there was full battery power on this camcorder. Perhaps nothing paranormal? Perhaps just operational matters to do with the camcorder?
On asking if this was a sign of someone, a presence, being in the cave with us, on the Dictaphone in the background was, what I can only describe as being what sounds like a dog bark. No animals were in the cave with us… On asking if anything had caused the camcorder to stop working and for whatever to do it again, nothing happened and the camcorder had returned to normal working order (after approximately 6 minutes!). Mandy later went on to experience camera difficulties. Later on during the same vigil, I found my camera was not working in its usual way – why? I do not know. It did eventually resume to working satisfactorily after some time trying to ascertain what the problem was. Still unknown. During this time I had my Dictaphone running and listening back there is a louder dog barking sound – again, no animals were in the cave with us. On playing this particular piece of the tape back to people, not saying what I thought I had heard on it, I asked them to tell me the first thought of what they perceive the noise to be. 7 out of 8 people said they thought it was a dog barking! What more can I say… one close family member thought it sounded like a dog barking and also likened it to the sound of a chair being pushed back (?) – my reply to this was “there are no chairs in the cave”. Their response was “well what did you sit on then?” My response was “the natural cave system”… No sounds were heard by the group at the time, it was only on replaying the Dictaphone back that it was heard… I have since been in communication with Nottingham Paranormal Investigators to see if they had picked anything up. They were checking with all recordable items taken on the evening in question and were getting back to me. See below for their comments.
We revisited the largest cave area later on in the morning and picked upon tapping sounds when asking out. This is the most bizarre sound I have heard. It does actually sound muffled (not wanting to sound clichéd here or anything, but like those you hear on paranormal programmes). Apparently, one of the other groups also experienced these sounds at a different time and separate to our group vigil. I experienced a difference in temperature around my hands (we were all sitting down so the possibility of air movement was ruled out on this occasion). Other group members said that they had experienced a drop in the temperature. Perhaps this was down to the natural cave system, it was dark and if dark rooms are anything to go by then they do cool down in darkness and at night – so perhaps this is a possibility here.
Towards the end of the morning we returned to the cave system again, concentrating mainly on the area to the right of the stairs descending to the cave. I experienced what I can only describe as a baby sick smell. Whether this was down to some natural cave smell i.e. a fungus type of smell given off resembling a sick smell, I do not know. If this is not the case, then I cannot logically explain what caused it. There were some stones in this cave area with a white mould or something resembling this, hence my possible explanation to this smell emanating from the same. This smell was apparent for a short period of time only to then disappear…
Follow up
On checking the recordable evidence handed back to Nottingham Paranormal Investigators (taken using their own equipment by other groups attending on the evening), they thought they also had something of a similar sound. I cannot personally find any logical explanation for this “dog barking” sound picked up. There was nothing apparent in the cave system that could have been accountable for this sound…
The cave system has an interesting layout - definitely worth a visit just to see this alone!!!
Remember to take a torch with you when visiting as the floor - naturally - is very unstable in places and there are very steep steps.
